Heavy crude discount widens on supply buildup

The Canadian heavy oil discount widenedon Wednesday against the West Texas Intermediate (WTI)benchmark, as supplies continued to build amid tight transportcapacity.

* Movement of crude is not expected to pick up significantlyuntil spring, when TransCanada Corp's Keystone pipelinemay be back up to full pressure after a November leak, and railcapacity may be more widely available, traders have said.

* Recent ebbs and flows in the discount's range are theresult of a trickling of additional rail transport capacity, ananalyst said.

* Western Canada Select (WCS) heavy blend crude for Aprildelivery in Hardisty, Alberta, settled at $27 a barrel below theWTI benchmark crude price , according to Shorcan Energybrokers, compared with Tuesday's settle of $26.20.

* Light synthetic crude from the oil sands for Aprildelivery last traded at $4.25 over WTI, a larger premium thanTuesday's settle of $3.25 over WTI.

(Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, ManitobaEditing by Alistair Bell)